John 13:12-17 – “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?  13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.  14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.  16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.  17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” NKJV

For a long time, I have had a bad taste in my mouth for the clerical hierarchy that exists in the church.  Oh, I believe that there is a “first among equals” and that there is a “Moses” or a “point man” for each local congregation, but lording it over people is not the biblical way.  Jesus demonstrated that truth in this passage and gave us an example of “True Leadership,” which comes through serving. 

Too often, I have seen people who wanted to be served rather than being willing to serve.  I have seen those who felt it was beneath them to get their hands dirty with a menial task (so to speak) because of their position or place.  I have cleaned toilets in the church while serving as the “senior pastor,” and it did not bother me to do so.  It was not always because it was expected, but sometimes because it was needed or just because I chose to do so to demonstrate that I was willing to serve. 

I have put on my nail apron and worked alongside others on a church workday or helping some needy family in the community. I thought nothing about it and never felt nor allowed it to diminish my ability to speak authoritatively as the need presented itself on a biblical matter.

It has long been my contention and conviction that if a person cannot follow, they are not qualified to lead.  They should not be allowed to occupy a leadership position regardless of so-called credentials or qualifications.  In my years of ministerial leadership, I almost always chose the person with a servant’s heart over someone with seemingly more impressive qualifications who did not exhibit that same spirit and attitude. 

We do not need a hierarchy. We need a community of people joined together in Jesus Christ, functioning according to God’s “gifts and callings” upon their lives.  I have taken the follower’s role even when the lead man when I recognized a gift operational in a person’s life that fit the situation and made them more qualified than I. 

Allowing people to function in the talents and abilities that God has given them is far more efficient than trying to be Moses “pre-Jethro.”  Study and you will know what I mean.  Moses was trying to be the Sole Leader of the entire nation, and his father-in-law gave him wisdom that could only come from God and experience that gave us an example of what the local church should look like.

If you find yourself in a leadership position, be willing to serve; if you are not in a leadership position and have a desire to lead, be willing to and actually serve.  If you do so with a cheerful heart, God will promote you to whatever position and place He deems is where you need to be and serve. 

After all, it is His Church, and we are members of His Body!  He chooses what part we play and when we play it; one role is not more important than another.  The physical body needs all its parts to be a fully functioning and complete unit, and so does the Body of Christ.

May God be with you as you serve Him and others!  Blessings!

2 Kings 5:9-14 – “Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”  NKJV

This account of Naaman, the Syrian Commander, is one of several in the Bible that reflects ‘unrealistic’ or ‘unfulfilled expectations’ and the problem therein.  Naaman had leprosy, which was a virtual sentence of death.  His wife had a slave girl from Israel, and she said to her Master’s wife, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria!  For he would heal him of his leprosy.”  Naaman’s wife relayed the information to Naaman, and he, in turn, to his master.  The story begins with a letter sent to the king of Israel to heal Naaman. 

Imagine, if you will, receiving a directive from a powerful enemy to do something you were not capable of doing.  How would you view it?  He considered it a provocation to war and was distraught.  Elisha heard of the King of Israel’s hysteria and directed that Naaman had been sent to him.  Naaman followed the king’s directive, and his entourage proceeded to Elisha’s house; the problem opened in a major way and revealed the “Problem of Human Expectations.”

Elisha told Naaman to go to the Jordan and dip himself seven times.  Naaman was furious, for he considered it an insult for someone of his stature to be instructed to do this.  He expected pomp and ceremony with Elisha standing before the great general, waving his hands over the leprosy and healing him in a dramatic fashion that fit what he considered worthy of someone of his stature. 

He left furious, and one of his servants took his life in his own hands and approached Naaman, asking if Elisha had instructed him to do something great, difficult, or monumental, would he not have attempted it?  As a result, Naaman realized he had nothing to lose and obeyed.  The result was a complete cleansing of leprosy and a restoration of his flesh.

Had he allowed his ‘unrealistic’ and/or ‘unfulfilled expectations’ to rule, he would have died in Syria a Leper!  I wonder how often we fix in our minds how things should be and proceed to reject everything that does not fit that image and fulfill that expectation.  Could it be that we fail to receive answers to our prayers because we ‘predetermine’ how we expect things to be, and when they do not satisfy those expectations, we reject all else? 

Isaiah 55:9 reminds us that God’s ways are higher than ours, and when we attempt to subrogate our ways over God’s ways, we are doomed to the realm of ‘unfulfilled expectations.’  I see it in relationships, businesses, churches, and spiritually that ‘unrealized, unfulfilled and unreasonable expectations’ bring disappointment and failure.  We do not have to live at that address, for we can subject our expectations to God’s will and ways and allow the Holy Spirit to birth the purposes of God in us. 

Demanding that others meet our expectations can and often is both unrealistic and a catalyst to difficulty.  I am human.  You are human.  We are flawed vessels, and to expect perfection from flawed vessels is unrealistic. 

We need to be like the Naaman who went down into the Jordan, not the Naaman who drove off in a huff, wounded because his expectations were not satisfied.  I am learning more daily how Paul could say that he was content wherever he found himself.  His expectations were God, not his preconceived ideas of how things should be.

God bless you as you go through this day!

Philippians 1:21 – “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” 

A song comes to mind, “What Am I Living For,” and the questions the singer asks are: “What Am I Living for if not for you?”  It then declares that nobody else will do. The object of affection is the total focus and desire.  I ask that regarding our spiritual lives.  What are we living for if not for Christ?  What are we long for if not for Christ?  If anything else will do, I suggest that our lives come up short of the prize God has set before us.

Steven J. Cole wrote in a blog post in 2013 asking my question and related a story from English history and lore. 

A young man came to W.E. Gladstone when he was Prime Minister of England and said, “Mr. Gladstone, I would appreciate your giving me a few minutes in which I might lay before you my plans for the future.  I would like to study law.” 

“Yes,” said the great statesman, “and then what?”  “Then, sir, I would like to gain entrance to the Bar of England.” “Yes, young man, and what then?”  “Then, sir, I hope to have a place in Parliament, in the House of Lords.”  “Yes, young man, what then?” pressed Gladstone.  “Then I hope to do great things for Britain.” 

“Yes, young man, and what then?”  “Then, sir, I hope to retire and take life easy.”  “Yes, young man, and what then?” he tenaciously asked.  “Well, then, Mr. Gladstone, I suppose I will die.”  “Yes, young man, and what then?”  The young man hesitated and then said, “I never thought any further than that, sir.”  Looking at the young man sternly and steadily, Gladstone said, “Young man, you are a fool.  Go home and think life through!”  (Told by Leonard Griffith, this is Living [Abingdon Press], pp. 48, 49.)

What are we living for?  How much thought have you given to your life?  The past, present, future, and eternity must be brought into focus.  Paul addresses this issue in the text above, saying, “To live is Christ…”  I am living to Live Christ!  I am living to Manifest Christ!  I am living to be an Epistle known and read among men!  My focus is Christ!  My hope is Christ!  My life is Christ!  For in Him I live and move and have being!

• If I am living primarily for me, my focus is wrong. 
• If I am living primarily to have financial success, my focus is wrong. 
• If I am living to advance a particular cause, my focus is wrong. 

Jesus instructed us in Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” If I have God first in my life and actively and diligently seek Him, He will care for all else in my life.  I am Living to Live Christ!

I do not want to be remembered for my activism, speaking or writing, or accomplishments in life (whatever they might be).  I want to be remembered for Living Christ!  I want to be remembered as one who manifested and demonstrated Christ in my words and deeds.  I do not care if anyone remembers my name so long as they remember the Christ of and in my life.

May God be with you as you go through your day!  I encourage you to begin Living Christ!  Blessings!

Mark 16:15-18 – “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  16 ” He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved, but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.  17 “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  

I have never understood limiting the Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent God of all creation, but many do, and I have.  Sometimes, we limit Him through our errant theological beliefs and by our actions.  Most of us would say, “All things are possible with God.”  If all things are possible, why are so many things, in our minds, not probable when it comes to God and His power?

I have been told that God no longer heals today because we have doctors, science, and medicine and that the miracles of healing were only to help establish the fledgling church in the 1^st century.  Where does it say that in the Bible? 

Some quote the verse about tongues passing away and omit the rest of the quotation that ‘knowledge’ also passes away.  If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, why do we not expect Him to perform His works in our present day?  Yes, we have science, doctors, technology, and many modern advancements, but He created us and has the power to touch all the dimensions of our lives, does He not?

Sometimes we pray, ‘If it be Thy will,’ and too often, that is a prayer of faithlessness rather than submission to His will.  It is often a prayer with no expectation.  Of course, anything must be in His will to be realized.  I readily acknowledge that and do not mind that addendum to a prayer if it is submission but charged with faith and expectation. 

I am not trying to be critical, and I know I am treading on thin ice with some, but I suggest that along with that addendum, we might add, “Unless it is not your will, I will eagerly await the answer with expectation.”  I have had people say, “Well, we can only pray,” and hear others asking, “Has it come to that?” as if prayer were a last resort in a hopeless cause.

We do not get everything we ask for, but that should not stop us from asking and seeking, for God is God, and He always will be God.  Hebrews tells us that a Better Covenant was established on Better Promises, and the Old Covenant was not too shabby!

May God bless you as you go through your day and provide whatever you need from Him!  Blessings!

Deuteronomy 6:4-6 – “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 ” You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.” 

Deuteronomy 11:18-22 – “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 19 ” You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. 20 ” You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth.” 

It was a sad day in history when we turned the responsibility of teaching our children over to the government or the state.  Initially, the Bible was part of their public education, but not today.  It has been said that America is no longer a Christian nation, and that may well be true.  Most still profess a belief in the existence of God, but do they seek to serve Him?

Parents and grandparents are responsible for teaching the children the principles of life and the Word of God.  It is not the responsibility of the public school or even Sunday school.  It should be a natural part of family life. 

We need to turn off the television, set aside our smartphones, log off the computers, and develop relationships that use actual language and face-to-face experiences with each other and our children.  Biblically, we are directed to allow God’s word to be impressed upon our hearts to the degree we talk of them as a family at all key times of the day.

No wonder the Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  I did not say browbeat them; I said TRAIN him.  Demonstrate the importance and respect of the Word in your life and instill in them the core principles and values taught in God’s Word. 

Children are our responsibility. Let us do the right thing by them.  

God bless you as you go through your day.  Blessings be upon you!

John 6:11 – “Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.”

Deuteronomy 8:10 – “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.”

The custom in biblical Middle Eastern times was that people, without fail, gave thanks before eating and usually gave thanks after the meal.  It was initially done to recognize God’s provision and express gratitude.  Like so many things, it evolved into a religious or societal ritual, as is often the case today!  I know of many who would never dream of eating a meal without ‘saying grace.’

In those days, those at the table would repeat the host’s words as he gave thanks.  If a prophet were present, he would be expected to take the lead in the prayer and bless the food, giving thanks as is described in 1 Samuel 9:13 – “…he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat.”  It was customary, but initially, it was far more than custom and a true recognition of God’s provision and their gratitude.

When Jesus fed the 5,000, we read that “after Jesus had given thanks, the food was distributed…”  In the feeding of the 4,000, Matthew is careful to include the fact that Jesus gave thanks before anyone ate.  The Jews were incredibly conscious of the fact that all they had comes from God and willingly expressed their gratitude.  Sadly, for many then and now, it is nothing more than a religious or societal ritual, not a genuine expression of gratitude.

They also customarily gave thanks at the end of the meal, as is reflected in Deuteronomy 8:10 – “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD….”  Gratitude demands acknowledgment of not only the provision but the provider.  I would suggest that if you ‘say grace’ and pray over your meal without really giving thought or having true gratitude in your heart; it is more of an insult to God than an act He will receive and recognize with blessing.

Therefore, make your words be true expressions of the gratitude of your heart and always remember that all we are and have has its source in God.  In Him, we live and move and have our being.  

Blessings upon you as you go through your day!

Exodus 20:16 – “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” NASB

1 Timothy 5:13 – “Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.”  NIV

Years ago, I had a lady in the church I was serving as pastor who always asked, “Do you have any news?”  She would preface what she was going to share with, “Have you heard the news?”  I asked her once if she considered what she was doing ‘gossip,’ she said, “Oh no, pastor, I’m just sharing the latest news, not gossiping for that would be wrong.”   

I could never convince her that they were the same thing.  She longed to hear any tidbit, documented or undocumented, and would then share it with whomever she could find who would listen.

Gossip is a very destructive weapon that the devil uses to drive wedges and damage people in their testimony.  I recall hearing something once about a fellow minister that, if true, would be so damaging to his reputation that it would impact untold numbers of people.  What I heard is not important, nor his name; the fact that I listened to it is. 

As I pondered what I had heard, the Holy Spirit brought conviction to my heart, and I sensed the Lord speaking to me, saying, “Why did you allow that gossip to be spoken into your hearing?”  I began to weep, for I had listened and, without realizing it, formed an opinion regarding this brother without any real documentation or evidence. 

It was wrong!  I was wrong!   The gossip was a malicious lie, as was later proven.  Yet had I repeated that gossip, I would have been furthering the harm brought to an innocent brother.  Thankfully, the Holy Spirit arrested me before I participated in an activity I have long loathed – Gossip.

When people come to me with tidbits about someone, I usually ask, “Have you gone to that individual to discuss this?”  If the answer is no, I stop them and ask that they not continue gossip but rather suggest they take it to prayer and approach the person in question with that little morsel they are ‘sharing.’ 

Some have become quite angry with me, calling me ‘self-righteous’ or worse, because I did not want to participate in gossip regarding another.  However, I must ask, “Would you want someone spreading gossip about you?”  Consider that point when you are tempted to share ‘news,’ as that little lady called it. 

Gil LeBreton, a sportswriter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, wrote a piece regarding the Texas Ranger’s manager Ron Washington’s resignation a few years prior and used an illustration from a movie that speaks to what I am talking about.  It was excellent, and I am sharing it here. 

In the Academy Award-nominated movie Doubt, there is a memorable scene in which the accused priest, Father Flynn, delivers a powerful sermon to the congregation.

The priest, brilliantly played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, tells the story of a woman who “was gossiping with her friend about a man whom they hardly knew.” Seized later with guilt, the woman went to a Catholic confessional and asked her parish priest if she had done anything wrong. “Yes,” said the priest. “You have borne false witness against your neighbor. You’ve played fast and loose with his reputation and should be heartily ashamed.” 

As her penance, the priest instructed the woman to go to her roof and gut a pillow with a knife, a scene classically depicted in the movie.  And what did she see? The priest asked.   “Feathers,” the woman answered. “Feathers everywhere.”  “Now, I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out into the wind,” the priest instructed.

The woman protested. “It can’t be done.”  I don’t know where they went. The wind took them all over.”  “And that,” the movie’s Father Flynn said, abruptly ending the sermon, “is gossip!”

That is a fantastic illustration of the damage and futility of trying to retrieve harmful words spoken about another.  It is Impossible!  The damage is done even if we go to them in repentance, begging forgiveness; we will Never retrieve all the words or find where they have been carried.  Therefore, the biblical policy is Do Not Gossip!

Blessings as you go through your day!

Psalm 62:1-8 – “Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.  2 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.  3 How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence. 4 They only consult to cast him down from his high position; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah   5 My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.  7 In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.  8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”  NKJV

Verse one of this Psalm should never be read superficially but meditated upon prayerfully.  The literal Hebrew reads almost backward from the English translation.  It reads:  “Only for God in silence does my soul wait.”  

The word translated silence comes from the Hebrew verb:  “to whisper softly.” This carries the idea of whispering a secret to someone you love but not loud enough for others to hear.  In this case, it is only for God to hear or speak.  The word only appears six (6) times in this Psalm, which cries out to me that, for David, there is no one else but the LORD!

I ask you to consider the following in our discussion of Waiting.

• We are to WAIT for God to direct our steps.

The Psalmist says, “My soul waits in silence for God only.”  Never run ahead.  Wait!  A red light means “wait and watch carefully.”  You cannot run and wait at the same time.  The ability and strength to run come after and through waiting. 

I love the story of Ahimaz.  He kept begging Joab to let him run, although he did not have the green light.  He outran the man with the message Cushi, and when he reached the King, he was turned aside.  God told Moses when standing at the Red Sea with the army of Egypt coming fast from behind, “Stand Still and See the Salvation of the LORD!”

In verse one, we find David’s declaration; in verse five, we find his command, “My soul, wait in silence for God only.”  We would do well to note that David is talking to himself.  He is directing his will and instructing his inner man – – Wait for God!  He will direct my steps. 

This is not easy when we are impatient and anxious to run.  We dare not forget that Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice and know Me.”  We must learn to hear and know the voice of our Great Shepherd.

• We are to TRUST God to provide our needs.

“From Him is my salvation” is the continuation of verse one.  Then, in verse two, we read, “He only is my Rock…”  The directive is simple: we must wait on Him, trusting Him to provide.  The only question is, “Are We Doing That?”  

Those of us who have been around church for any length of time and have heard, “Wait for God” or “Trust God to supply your needs.”  Some seem to act as though they have outgrown that.  Some things are only learned through experience and time rather than teaching and books. 

When we consider the record of God, we quickly realize He Does Not Fail!  Therefore, we can trust Him confidently that He is El-Shaddai.  He will provide the green light, open door, and provision in due season.

When we wait on God to direct our steps– He Does!    When we trust God to meet our needs – He Does!

May God be with you, guarding and guiding you as you proceed on the planned path of this day! 

1 Peter 1:13-16 – “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”  NKJV

It is of concern that my title will convey the idea that I think of myself as spiritually superior.  I do not!  I feel as the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 1:15, “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”  I am constantly reminded of my human frailty and the kinks in my armor, so please do not take my words as speaking in a condescending tone. 

I am making an impassioned plea for all of us who name the name of Christ to realize that God expects and demands something of us that sometimes finds itself other than the modern narrative of Christianity. 

Holiness should not be an antiquated word or objective in the hearts of believers.  I agree we need to move beyond the legalism of some groups that make holiness primarily external with a laundry list of things we are not and cannot do.  But we dare not allow it to become defined by modern private moralistic notions that are not always consistent with scripture. 

I have seen studies that indicate many who call themselves evangelicals are either in agreement or not disturbed by the modern ideas regarding divorce, spousal abuse, extramarital sex, pornography, materialism, and even some biases and prejudices.  Many will nod to the idea of the Bible calling us to be holy, but it is only a mental assent, not a practical application. 

I am convinced that believers must, as individuals and collectively, recover or rediscover the biblical idea and concept of holiness.  That concept covers private morality and every other aspect of life.  It is a message that needs to be restored to the message and mission of the church for believers. 

If those of us who stand in the pulpit, fail to preach something, it will be soon forgotten, discarded, and abandoned in principle and practice.  Peter was reiterating what God said to Israel in Leviticus 11:44, and God is a God who does not change.  He is holy and demands holiness in our lives in order to have a relationship with Him.  He cannot and will not tolerate sin.

The biblical terms “holy” and “holiness” [qadosh, hagios] carry an incredibly strong connotation to moral purity, but it could be argued those are secondary.  The primary implication and directive of God’s call for us to be Holy means to be Set Apart or Dedicated to God.

Remember, He said, “I will be your God, and you will be My people.”  [Leviticus 26:12; Hebrews 8:10] Even before the Bible addresses morality, it calls for our unique relationship with God, from which moral purity springs and as a basis to live, survive, and thrive.  Before God called us to be “good,” He called us to be “holy.”  I believe it is vital that we view Holiness through the prism of our relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Galatians 2:20,the apostle Paul declared, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”  Is Christ holy? Of course, He is, and if He lives in me, my holiness springs from my relationship with Him. 

Colossians 3:3, the apostle declares that we have been “seated with [God] in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”  The powerful word of the apostle John in 1 John 4:17 rings in my consciousness, “…as He is, so are we in this world.”  AS HE IS!  

How is He?  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  He is the sinless Son of God.  He is eternal righteousness.  “So are we, IN THIS WORD…”  Not when we get to heaven but in this World!

Therefore, God is asking for more than mere displays of morality.  He is asking for our lives in totality.  That is a more genuine picture of holiness than simply focusing on the external and following a legalist list of “dos” and “don’t.”  He is asking us to become radical in giving Him our lives.  

To be a disciple of Jesus requires that we “die to self.”  Remember the words of Mark 8:35-36, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul?”

Being Holy as He is Holy is about more than moral purity. It is about complete surrender and walking the Light of His Word, Love, Person, and Power.  Only biblical holiness will be a safeguard against modernism and the modern concept of moralism and propel forward in the process of becoming the Church Jesus came to build.

God bless you as He guards and guides you through this wonderful day!